My allergies were acting up a little this week, so as I was sitting at my desk on Thursday, I let out a nice loud sneeze. Right away came the chorus of, “Bless You” “Bless You” “God Bless You.”
I thanked everyone for their blessings.
A minute later I sneezed again and everyone said "God Bless You" again. I knew I was going to sneeze a few more times that afternoon, so I just wanted to say to everyone, “Those of you who said ‘God Bless You’, thank for saying it. Please do not feel obligated to say it every time I sneeze. Consider your gesture acknowledged and appreciated.”
But then I realized that the gesture was not meant for me.I have no idea why it is commonplace to ask God to bless those who sneeze. I searched the net and found a bunch of archaic reasons, but nothing that explains why people are still saying it in 2007.
Saying “God Bless You” after I sneeze actually embarrasses me. It brings even more sympathetic attention to me than my loud sneeze already did, and on top of that, it makes me wonder what about sneezing is so bad that others feel the need to ask God to take time out of his day to bless me? Am I cursed?
I don't know about you, but I enjoy a nice powerful sneeze. It’s refreshing.
7 comments:
That's fucking hilarious, Mr. Seinfeld.
What is this, 1994? Is this blog a fucking time machine?
The reason people say "God Bless You" is that they used to believe the devil could steal your soul when you sneezed. Thus, cover your mouth with your hand to keep in the soul and someone asks for God to bless you to keep out the devil. Those crazy superstitious medievalites.
Don't know how that works for non-christians either.
-JC
What's with all the hostility K-Ro?
I'll take your deletion of my last post as a yes.
I don't know who k-ro is or where he comes from, but god bless him. I'm now checking the blog as much for k-ro's two cents as I am for actual blog contents.
Cyrus, don't get me wrong, your thoughts are as true today as they were in 1994. I've protested the whole god bless you movement since I could walk. And I think the god bless you community can sense it. I rarely get a god bless you thrown my way. I swear I'll be sitting in class, hear a sneeze followed by a god bless you in my vicinity, then I'll sneeze some minutes later and that same person will not ask god to be bless me. And there is no doubt they could hear the sneeze and pinpoint its location. I'm dead serious, I've noticed it all through law school. Its great, I walk a little bit taller the rest of the day.
connors
Millis, your comment is on my last entry. I don't censor
My bad.
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